There are not a lot of tools needed to make pie crust. A board
to roll the crust on, a rolling pin and a pie plate to put the crust in.There are many types of pie plates.Glass is the most common, with metal plates and ceramic plates
also. Sue has 9, 8, and 7 inch sizes plus 5” pans. I have 4 ten inch deep- dish pans, 3 nine inch pans, 2 ten inch pans, 1 eight inch pan and a
10 ½” ceramic pie plate that belonged to our Grandmother and a 9” ceramic pan
that is mine. Looks like I own 12 pie plates. Somehow they seem to multiply at
our house. We both prefer the glass pans because they brown the bottom crust
better. Over the years I have had metal pans but have given them away. If I am
making pies for a sale or to give away I will buy the foil pie pans from the
grocery store. They are inexpensive and I don’t have to worry about getting
them back. The smaller size glass pie plates are hard to find now. Sometimes
you can find them at flea markets or thrift stores. Especially nice for small
families.

When it comes to rolling pins, use what feels comfortable
for you to roll with. Mine is bright yellow and I don’t know for sure what
material it is made from is. I received it as a shower gift 55 years ago and it
is still going strong. Sue uses a OXO rolling pin. Neither of us uses the type
of pins that are all one piece.

When I was first married I had pull-out bread boardsright above my cabinet drawersand we
had them growing up at our house and my grandmother’s house. I am not sure why
they do not put them in kitchens anymore. I use a maple board I bought in 1973
and Sue has a very nice reversible board with a lip to keep it in place and with pie circle sizes on it. The Danesco mat
allows you to cut on it and is fairly nonstick. Your kitchen counter will
work in a pinch, but depending on the material, you may not want to cut on it.

I do have a large cutter set, thanks to Sue, to make crusts
for hand pies. They are handy to own and also make nice circles to top pot pies
with.

The last two items you should have are a pastry blender or
pastry fork to cut in the shortening and a bench cutter for cutting dough and scraping your board. Really not a lot of
fancy equipment needed, but do be sure your rolling pin fits your hands and is
easy for you to use.

11 comments:

My grandpa loved pie and my grandma was a great cook. They lived on a farm and while Grandpa was out doing the early morning chores, Grandma cooked biscuits, gravy and oatmeal every day. But the first thing she cooked every morning was 1 or 2 pies. Her only tools were glass pie pans, a wood rolling pin and a regular fork.

I don't bake pies as often as Grandma but I always think if her whenever I do. I need a new pastry cutter and that Pastry Pro one in your picture looks good, I am going to check it out.

I really like my Pastry Pro (they don't pay me to say that!), but I use it in those shallower, flat-bottomed 4 or 8 cup Pyrex measuring cups or a larger bowl. It doesn't work as well in really rounded smaller bowls. The flat bottom is about 3 3/4" wide. I like it because it doesn't clog up with dough as easily as my old pastry cutter, and it also will mash potatoes!

Preheat a cookie sheet in the oven while it is preheating; then place your pies in foil pans on the hot sheet (carefully), and bake. Let the pies cool on the sheet too, so the foil pans won't buckle.Bake at the usual temperature for your recipe, until done, usually the same time called for in your recipe. Be sure your pies are centered on the sheet, and it is centered in your oven. Good luck.Our local orchard, which sells hundreds of pies "ready-to-bake" in foil pans, recommends this method in their directions, and I find it works well.

Nadine, The only thing I do is to put them on a flat rimless cookie sheet so they are easier to handle. It might take a few minutes extra to bake that way, maybe five or so but saves tipping it over when I take it out. I don't buy the pie crust in the pans just the empty pans.

I use my old glass pie plates and even the ceramic plate of my Grandmothers. They really shouldn't break.Not everyone bakes pie crust either. My family just doesn't like the frozen crusts after all these years of homemade crusts.

love that pastry board with all the circles....I think I need one of those....I don't like using the plastic ones...I have all Fiesta Ware pie bakers...small, medium and large....they bake a GREAT pie...

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We live a lot like our folks did in the 40's and 50's - baking, gardening, canning, cooking from scratch, hanging up the wash, having coffee with friends, sharing good books, taking a Sunday drive in the country.We don't feel like we're giving up anything.